


afterthought

by walking_through_autumn



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Non-Graphic Violence, references to death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-17 23:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3547700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/walking_through_autumn/pseuds/walking_through_autumn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The first thought that flashed through Hirako’s mind was, most eloquently, “Shit.” </i>
</p>
<p>Hirako Take faces Black Dog in the raid, and Irimi Kaya becomes more than just an afterthought.</p>
            </blockquote>





	afterthought

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the kink meme.

**afterthought  
** _noun – af.ter.thought_

  1.       an idea occurring later
  2.       something not thought of originally



.

The first thought that flashed through Hirako’s mind was, most eloquently, “Shit.”

From the way Kuramoto had stilled next to him for a split second before asking, half in shock, half in panic, “Why hadn’t she evacuated – ”, Hirako knew that was the same thing that had gone through everybody’s minds.

What he hadn’t expected, even more than the old lady suddenly appearing on her balcony, was the way Black Dog had stiffened, and the way her eyes had widened in equal shock and horror, like she was one of them.

He had thought she would kill the old lady. Take a bite even, if she was desperate enough for energy to fuel her through.

He hadn’t thought Hachikawa would be the one to decide the old lady wasn’t worth anything.

( _Later, he would admit that he had been lying to himself – Hachikawa seemed the exact sort of bastard who would fire at a civilian to get what he wants._ )

The second thought that flashed through Hirako’s mind was, equally eloquently, “ _Shit._ ”

Black Dog leapt at the lady – but it wasn’t to take a bite, or to kill her. Hachikawa’s attack hit exactly where the old lady was standing, and where Black Dog was now. Hirako, with the reflexes that training with Arima had given him, could see every detail so well he thought it was like watching a movie in slow motion. The hit slicing Black Dog’s, the tension that ran through a body when there was intense pain, the impossibly elegant arch of her back as she collapsed on the balcony next to the stunned old lady.

He went into every battle steeling his heart, reaching and reaching and reaching for the same stoicism, the same dispassion Arima had for every battle he went into, and he knew his expression always reflected the same stoicism he felt in his core.

It was strange that there were so many things going through him at once now – shock, respect, and utter disgust, all aimed at different people and all of which had the effect of making his lips harden into a downturned line.

The third thought that flashed through Hirako’s mind was, “ _Oh no_.”

Black Dog, her mask split open and no longer of any use to her, stood up with a feral expression on a face pale from pain and determination. He knew, from her stance and the glint in her eyes, that she was like a cornered animal, and a cornered animal had nothing to lose. She was at her most dangerous, and only a fool – like Hachikawa – would take her lightly when Hirako, Kuramoto, and Ayumu knew perfectly well their defenses had to be at their highest now.

( _Later, much later, Hirako would admit to himself it hadn’t been just the difficult battle or Black Dog’s skill that made him tense, but the way he had unwillingly thought to himself that she was beautiful – more beautiful than any ghoul had a right to be, and more human than some of the scum the CCG harboured._ )

The fourth thought that flashed through Hirako’s mind was, “Don’t die.”

He attacked to maim. Even now his blows were precise and heavy, and the strain in her body and her face told him how much she was struggling. She still managed to take out Kuramoto’s _quinque_ , still managed to evade blows aimed at her vitals – and Hirako did not hesitate when he saw an opening and sliced. Ghoul blood and human blood did not smell much different, he thought with a mild sense of wonder, as Black Dog’s hair became flecked with her own blood and parts of the street became stained a dark red.

She was too strong to die from this. He watched her eyes, dull from pain, flutter open and close. He remembered the orders he had been given, that all of them had been given – no ghoul would be taken alive.

It was the first time in his career he considered going against the orders.

Hachikawa was a man drunk on power and revenge, a man impossible to negotiate with even under the best of circumstances. Still he tried, ignoring Kuramoto’s winces and attempts to hold him back.

It was also the first time in his life he thought he might begin to hate someone.

The fifth thought that flashed through Hirako’s mind was, “ _Good._ ”

He was sure, this time, that none of his team shared his sentiments. Centipede moved fast, too fast for any of them to follow, and his attacks robbed them of their weapons and left them alive and hardly wounded. Hirako knew, from the first blow Centipede landed on Nagomi, that he was barely a match for Centipede. He held on as best as he could, with the pride of an investigator, but the second he felt Nagomi slip out of his hands he knew it was a lost battle.

“…is that so,” he said to himself, and he closed his eyes.

He was sure nobody saw the small, brief smile that crossed his face when Centipede leapt away from the scene with the injured Black Dog.

( _Much later, when the dust had settled and their dead – pieces of their dead – had been buried, Hirako admitted to himself that he had been pleased because of the petty thought that Hachikawa had been put in his place. But it took him a lot longer, long after the funerals, to realize that he had been pleased for other reasons as well, not least the dark figure Centipede had carried as he left the place._ )

The last thought that flashed through Hirako’s mind, before they left to assist the other investigators, was whether Arima would fail in his mission.

A small part of him knew it was a wish more than a thought.

(His mind knew it was impossible that Arima would fail.)

It did not stop the cold going through him when, months later, he saw Centipede – _Sasaki Haise_ – in a CCG laboratory.

“…is that so,” he said to himself, and he closed his eyes, remembering the feral smile and the proud line of her body. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated :)


End file.
